Interning at a Hospital During a Pandemic; Why Virtual is Better
In February, 2020, I was offered my dream internship; Performance Improvement and operations at Cambridge Health Alliance. It was the space in which I could see myself growing, professionally and personally, and it combined both my passion for healthcare with my newfound proficiency in operations management. During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not clear if I would be able to complete the internship. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to complete the internship remotely. Not only was I given the chance to work in the healthcare industry during a global pandemic, but I was saddled with the challenge of working with my supervisors virtually. It has become a chance to overcome challenges beyond the scope of the internship itself. Preparing for the “real world” could not be better learned than through navigating the “real world” problems we all face today. Time management, self-motivation, communication, organization, and hard work are skills I am growing ten-fold to what I anticipated. How do I communicate well over Google Hangout? How do I ensure I stay focused everyday? What tools can I use to remain organized? How do I create professional relationships with supervisors I have only ever seen through a computer screen? How do I highlight my engagement in projects and with the organization as a whole during my meetings? These are just a few of the questions I ask myself as I embark on the opportunity I did not anticipate I would be given.